


the night we met

by doodles357



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Romantic Fluff, Teenage Rebellion, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23399428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodles357/pseuds/doodles357
Summary: Bex never thought that sneaking out to see a band play would change her life forever.Or how Bex and Bowie met for the first time.
Relationships: Rebecca "Bex" Mack/Bowie Quinn
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	the night we met

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the AM Secret Valentine exchange on Tumblr for mywholehistoryintheam. I've never really written Bexie before, but I thought I'd take a crack at how they met for the first time.

Bex made sure that her clothes were tightly rolled up and tucked at the bottom of her bag with her textbooks carefully placed on top of them so that they weren’t visible. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, she quickly assessed her outfit. Slouchy sweatpants, oversized band shirt, sloppy ponytail. Definitely the outfit of someone who was staying in for the night. Swinging her backpack over her shoulder, she took a deep breath and headed down stairs.

“Mom, I’m leaving!” she shouted as she made her way towards the front door. However, she heard her mother’s rapid-fire footsteps approaching before she could make it out.

“Where are you going?” her mom asked as she strode into the room.

“I’m going to Sheena’s. We have a science project we have to work on and then we’re going to hang out and watch movies,” Bex lied with ease. Her mother squinted suspiciously at her, and eyed the bag over her shoulder. 

“Are those books in there?” her mother asked, a skeptical look on her face. Bex rolled her eyes, swung the bag off her shoulder, and unzipped it so her mother could see the books inside.

“All right,” her mom finally said. “Call me when you get there.” Bex restrained herself from rolling her eyes again, but nodded. Her mother waved her off, and Bex almost sprinted to the door to leave. Of course everything she had just told her mother was a complete lie (except for the fact that she was going to her friend’s house), but it was almost insulting that her mother didn’t believe her.

Almost. She did have a bit of a track record.

Hopping on her bike, she made it to Sheena’s house in record time. Her friend was sprawled out on her couch, red hair hanging over the armrest as she paged through a magazine.

“Finally!” Sheena said as Bex burst through the front door. “I thought you were ditching me.”

“Never,” Bex declared, dropping her bag onto the floor and collapsing into a chair. “I just had to go through the FBI inspection in order to get here.” 

Sheena laughed. “I’m surprised she let you out the front door.”

“Honestly? Me too,” Bex replied. Then she groaned and pushed herself up. “Speaking of which, I need to use your phone.”

The phone only rang twice before her mother picked up.

“Hello?”

“I am calling to inform you that I made it to Sheena’s house. I didn’t join a biker gang or a traveling circus troupe on the way over.”

“Very funny,” her mother replied dryly. “Behave yourself. You are a guest right now.”

“I’ll do my best,” Bex replied, rolling her eyes. Sheena’s parents traveled a lot for work, and the girls were very much alone that night. Not that her mother needed to know that.

Once she hung up and made her way back to the living room, Sheena’s was sitting upright.

“You ready?” she asked, eye lit up with excitement.

“Always,” Bex agreed. She dumped the textbooks out of her bag and pulled out the clothes she was planning on wearing. The two girls ran up to Sheena’s room, giggling with excitement.

An hour later, Bex looked completely different to how she had when she had left the house. She had traded her sweatpants for ripped black jeans, her sneakers for heavy combat boots, and her t-shirt for an artistically torn tank top. A studded black belt wrapped around her hips, and her hair was styled heavily with gel. She rimmed her eyelids with black and slapped on some dark lipstick. Sheena was in a similar get-up, but wore tights and a short skirt instead of pants. 

“We look amazing,” Bex mused as the two girls admired their reflection in the mirror.

“Always,” Sheena said, before the two descended into laughter. Bex grabbed Sheena’s camera, and the two took a picture together, both sticking their tongues out at the camera. Grabbing their wallets, they headed on out. 

They stopped at a nearby pizza place for something to eat where the rest of their friends met up with them. A few people had cars that they all piled into after they were finished eating. There weren’t enough seats in the cars, so Bex found herself half sitting, half laying across several laps. The energy in the car was palpable, and everyone was in high spirits. Before long, they had made it to their final destination.

There was an old warehouse outside of town where local bands performed. None of them were well-known, but they were all loud and fun and it was a place that attracted high schoolers and some college-aged kids. Bex and her friends had wanted to go for a while now, but she knew that her mother would have never allowed her to attend if she had asked. Then it was announced that they were going to have a Battle of the Bands event, and her friend group had rallied together to all head out to see it.

It was definitely a different atmosphere, she mused as they all piled out of the car and headed into the warehouse. Lots of people wearing black and metal. Lots of piercings, tattoos, and interesting hair colors. She grinned as she imagined the look on her mother’s face if she could see where her daughter was in that moment. 

Their group managed to squeeze up near the stage where the first band was warming up. Not long after that, they launched into their set. They weren’t terrible, but they weren’t great either. But they were keeping a beat and they were pretty loud, so the crowd was dancing and jumping along. Bex found herself getting lost in the music, dancing with her friends.

A few more bands took their turns, and after awhile, a few of the girls broke apart from the group to go grab drinks. They milled around outside of the crowd for a bit, trying to get some fresh air before heading back in. When they heard the sound of a new band tuning their instruments, they headed back inside. 

The next band was a group of guys who had a piece of cardboard taped to the drum kit reading _October Dropouts_. Bex chuckled a bit at the half-ditched effort. After taking in the sign, her eyes drifted up to the drummer and she couldn’t help but do a double take.

He was cute. Seriously cute. His hair was curly, and he had to keep brushing strands out of his eyes. He looked young too, like he might still be in high school. He wore a fitted black tee, and kept twirling one of the drumsticks around as he waited for his band members to finish getting ready. Then he glanced out into the crowd and his eyes met hers. 

He looked a little surprised at first at the direct eye contact, and Bex felt the same. Someone, in the whole crowd of people, they had managed to make a connection. He smiled slightly at her, and she felt the corners of her mouth lifting up in return. Then one of the guitarists hit a loud note that had half the crowd groaning, and the connection was broken. 

The band kicked into their first song, and soon everyone was dancing again. This group was pretty good, and Bex found herself having a difficult time pulling her eyes away from the drummer. He was clearly focused on his playing, and she couldn’t help but watch the flex of his arms as he drummed. She got into the rhythm and was soon jumping up and down with everyone else, but definitely found herself having a harder time concentrating on just the music. 

After a few more rambunctious songs, the group slowed it down into a melancholy tune that had the audience swaying back and forth. The singer crooned into the microphone, singing about love and loss. Bex wrapped her arm around Sheena’s waist and the two swayed in unison. Against her better judgement, she glanced at the drummer again, and found that he was looking back at her. He winked, and she felt her cheeks heating up. Grateful that it was dark and that no one else was paying attention to her face, she tried to refocus on the rest of the band.

When that group had finished and walked off the stage to thunderous applause, there were only two more bands left to play. After everyone had finished, they had all the bands come back out on stage and had the audience cheer for which their favorite was. When _October Dropouts_ was announced, the audience roared loudly, signaling their approval. Bex screamed just as loudly as everyone else, finding her gaze drawn once again to the drummer, who looked surprised at the loud applause they were receiving. To no one’s surprise, _October Dropouts_ ended up winning, and they accepted their trophy to cheers. 

“C’mon, let’s go,” Sheena said suddenly, tugging Bex to the side of the crowd.

“Where are we going?” Bex asked in confusion, allowing herself to be pulled. 

“Brendan knows one of the guys in _October Dropouts_. We’re going backstage to meet them!”

And just like that, Bex realized that she was going to meet the drummer that she had been eyeing all night. 

After pushing through a lot of sweaty bodies, they made it to the edge of the stage, and Brendan waved them towards the back. He said something to one of the security guys, and their group squeezed behind a curtain.

Backstage was chaotic, with various band members and instruments all over the place. Bex kept a firm grip on Sheena’s hand as they followed the guys through the chaos. Soon enough, they were in front of the members of _October Dropouts_ who were grouped in a corner, passing their trophy around in delight.

“Dude, nice job!” Brendan exclaimed, giving one of the guys a complicated handshake. The other guys perked up, and almost as one, their eyes slid over to the girls. Bex glanced at the drummer first, and was pleased to see that he was looking directly at her.

“All right, intros, let’s go,” Brendan said, and quickly spouted off names, pointing at everyone in turn. 

“That’s Jake, Lucas, Bowie, and Eric,” he said.

 _Bowie?_ That definitely wasn’t the name she was expecting. 

“Like David?” Sheena interjected.

“Who’s David?” one of the guys asked, looking confused.

“No, she meant me,” the drummer said, slapping his friend lightly on the shoulder. “Yes, like David Bowie.”

“Your parents really named you Bowie?” Sheena asked.

“Nah, it’s just a nickname,” Brendan said. “He thinks it makes him seem cool.”

“It _does_ make me seem cool,” Bowie replied with a grin.

“What’s your real name then?” Bex asked, deciding to finally get his attention completely on her.

He looked over at her, paused for a moment, not breaking eye contact, before saying, “It’s a secret.”

His buddies cracked up at his serious tone, and Bowie’s face split into a grin.

“It’s actually St - ” Brendan started to say before Bowie clamped a hand over his friend’s mouth.

“It doesn’t matter!” he proclaimed. “Can we get going? I’m starving.”

The group headed towards the exit, and through the jostling, Bex managed to get herself situated so she was walking near Bowie. She caught a glimpse of Sheena’s expression which changed from confused to surprised to knowing. Bex gave her friend a warning look before turning her attention back to Bowie.

“So, Bex right?” he asked as they walked. 

“Yup,” she said, casting a glance up at him.

“Does that stand for anything?” he asked.

“It might,” she teased. “I don't tell just anyone though.” 

“Am I just anyone?” he asked in a mock hurt voice.

“Dude, I literally just met you five minutes ago,” Bex said, bumping her shoulder against his. He chuckled.

“Fair enough,” he said. They walked in comfortable silence for a few moments, listening to their friends talk in front of them.

“Did you enjoy the show?” Bowie asked, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, you guys were pretty good,” she replied. “Have you played for a long time?”

“Well, I picked up the drums in middle school,” he told her. “We didn’t really form the band until last year though.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” she said. “You guys have only been playing together for a year and you’re already winning competitions.”

“Yeah, it’s awesome,” he said, a big grin lighting up his face. “I can’t wait until I graduate. Then we can go out on the road and start making a name for ourselves.”

“When do you graduate?” Bex asked. She had a feeling he was older than her, but it was hard to tell specifically.

“Next year,” he replied, confirming her guess. At least it was only a year older. 

Normally, Bex could tell pretty easily if a guy was interested in her and actively flirting, or if he had no interest at all. Bowie was harder to read though. He was definitely very friendly, but that could easily be misconstrued with flirting. She decided to test it out.

“So, do you usually hang out with random girls you’ve just met after performances?” she asked, cocking her head to the side and looking up at him. He glanced over and met her eyes.

“Not usually,” he said. “I guess tonight is my lucky night.”

Ooh. Definitely flirting. 

“Lucky that I was able to sneak out to come to your show?” she replied.

“It looks like the universe meant for it to happen,” he said. 

“The universe?” she asked in confusion.

“Yeah, you know!” he said excitedly, waving his arms around. “The _universe_!”

She laughed at his antics. “It must be fate then.”

“Absolutely,” he replied, meeting her gaze again and holding it long enough for Bex to feel her cheeks heating up. 

“Whoo food!” one of the guys from the group yelled and Bex realized with a start that they had reached the local Taco Bell. Inside, they all crammed around one of the round tables while a couple of the guys went up to order. Bex found herself squished between Sheena and Bowie, and quite content with that seating arrangement. She ignored Sheena’s pointed looks and elbow digs to her side and instead focused on the pile of tacos in front of them.

After everyone had demolished the tacos (which only took about fifteen minutes), the group headed back outside. Bex glanced at her watch and cursed under her breath. It was getting close to ten, which was her curfew on weekends. She still had to make it back to Sheena’s, change clothes, and get home, or face her mother’s wrath. Sheena noticed her making a face at her watch, and announced that the two of them were taking off.

“Already?” Brendan complained.

“Do you want to face Hurricane Cece?” Bex asked him.

“Nope, absolutely not,” he replied, a terrified look on his face.

The group let out a chorus of goodbyes as the girls turned to walk away. Bex’s mind was already focused on trying to calculate whether she would make it home on time or not, and if there were any shortcuts she could take when she felt a hand touch her elbow. Turning, she was surprised to see Bowie standing behind her. 

“Hey, before you go, I was just wondering,” he started to say, looking a little nervous.

“Yeah?” she prompted him.

“Can I have your number?”

She paused for a moment, pretending to deliberate, while her heart sped up slightly.

“Hmm, no,” she finally replied with fake nonchalance.

“Oh,” he said, his face dropping slightly.

“Only because my mother screens my calls,” she said, giving him a grin. “But I’ll take yours if it’s up for grabs.”

“Oh.” he said. “Oh!” 

Scrambling through his pockets, he dug out a pen. Bex held out her hand and he carefully scribbled his number on it. 

She smiled widely at him before turning to catch up with Sheena.

“It was nice meeting you!” he called after her as she sprinted down the sidewalk.

“Same!” she hollered back over her shoulder. She couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across her face. Then she glanced down at her watch, cursed when she realized what time it was, and ran even faster.

Sheena’s house was only a few blocks from Taco Bell, and they made it there in record time. Both girls were panting and out of breath by the time they arrived. Bex ran inside, threw on her old clothes, and haphazardly stuffed her other stuff into her backpack.

After a hasty goodbye to Sheena, she hopped on her bike and took off. Halfway home, she realized that she was still wearing a full face of makeup, but considering what time it was, she knew she was already going to be in trouble. 

Cece was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the front door when Bex burst in, out of breath. Her mother didn’t say a word, but pointedly looked at the clock.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Bex panted, trying to catch her breath. “We fell asleep watching the movie.”

The expression on Cece’s face made it clear what her thoughts were on that excuse, and she merely pointed towards the stairs. Bex knew well enough that it meant she was grounded, and it took all her power to not roll her eyes as she headed up to her room. 

Dumping her backpack on the ground, she flopped onto her bed and groaned. She wasn’t relishing the fact that she wouldn’t be having any fun for the foreseeable future, but she also knew it was her own fault. Then she remembered the phone number on her hand and glanced at it warily.

Luckily, despite the fact that she had worked up quite a sweat and ridden her bike home, the number was still legible, if a little smudged. She quickly pulled out a notebook and scribbled it down. Despite everything else, she felt happy again. She had made a connection with Bowie, and he seemed interested in her. It was too late to call now, and he probably wasn’t even home yet. 

Instead, she rolled over and tried to fall asleep, but found it difficult because a certain curly haired drummer kept popping into her mind. 


End file.
